Local Zika transmission reported in ‘Little Haiti’ area of Miami-Dade County

The Florida Department of Health (DOH) reported Thursday on a new area in Miami-Dade County experiencing local transmission of the Zika virus. DOH says they confirmed local transmission of Zika in five people, two women and three men, linked to a one square mile section of Miami-Dade–NW 79th St. to the North, NW 63rd St. to the South, NW 10th Ave. to the West and N. Miami Ave. to the East.

Three live in this one square mile area. The other two either work or have visited this area. With the confirmation of these cases, this area now meets the CDC’s criteria for a new zone.

Florida Governor Rick Scott said yesterday, “Today’s announcement of a new area in Miami of ongoing local transmission of the Zika virus underscores the urgent need for federal funding to combat the Zika virus. It has been two weeks since federal funding to fight Zika was approved by Congress and signed by President Obama. However, Florida has not yet received a dime. We don’t need bureaucratic timelines – we need funding now.

“We have had more than 1,000 cases of Zika in our state, and Miami-Dade County continues to be the only area with ongoing active transmissions. I have continued to provide state funding to Miami-Dade County and this week, I allocated an additional $7 million for the county to fight mosquitoes. We have seen that aggressive mosquito control efforts have worked in areas like Wynwood and we hope the county also aggressively sprays in this area so we can limit the spread of this virus and protect pregnant women and their growing babies.

“Today I am requesting the CDC to work directly with the Miami Dade Mosquito Control District to identify best practices for defeating Zika in this new area. We know every area is different and I hope the federal government will provide guidance to the county on how to protect residents and visitors.

“We still have multiple outstanding requests to the Obama Administration for important Zika resources. We have continued to call on the CDC to quickly respond to these requests, and pregnant women who are most at-risk for the Zika virus deserve to have these requests immediately fulfilled. I am also continuing to call on Congress to hold a field hearing in Miami to hear directly from those who are on the frontlines of battling this virus. I most recently asked that Congress hold this hearing by October 1, and while that date has passed, they need to come here immediately. The threat of Zika is real and we continue to see more cases in our state.”

Through Oct. 13, Florida has seen a total of 1,021 Zika virus cases, which include 155 locally transmitted cases, 736 travel related cases and more than 100 cases involving pregnant women. One Polk County case and one Lee County case were acquired through sexual transmission.